Our cruises have officially been cancelled. New cruises are (all roundtrip Ft Lauderdale):

30 Nov 06 4 nights
11 Dec 06 7 nights
18 Dec 06 11 nights
29 Dec 06 11 nights

I asked about the fares on the four nighter 30 Nov. I was quoted a price of $1597 per person plus $155 port charges. I asked if they were going to make this a two for one sailing......she said these prices ARE at two for one! :eek:

$400 per night for a Cat H in Caribbean?!?!?!?! $439 per night including port charges?!?!??!?!?

The 4 Dec 06 seven day cruise is also at two for one. That is only $2498 plus $225 port charges. This equates to only $357 per night or $389 per night inclding port charges.

What happened to short filler cruises in the slow period between Thanksgiving and Christmas being cheap????

If Radisson is succesful at raising already increased 2006 per diems even more, we may be forced out; at least for the "run of the mill" ititneraries.

Marc, Why are your cruises being cancelled? I may have missed a previous thread. I thought RSSC was good about providing options to people on cancelled itineraries (like the Diamond)?

Thanks for the alert on the per diems. I hope $400 per person per night is not going to be the norm for bland itineraries. I'm with you Marc; I can't, as a matter of principle, pay per diems that high for relatively uninteresting itineraries. I have to admit that I was severely underwhelmed when I looked through the 2006 Cruise Atlas from Radisson. Not sure what the options really are for me given the increasing prices and totally uninteresting itineraries. Just being on a ship for the sake of being on a ship is not of interest to me.

Lawrence, they are moving dry dock from 11-21 Dec to 20-30 Nov. With the change in World Cruise now leaving from Ft Lauderdale, no need for 21 Dec Panama Canal Cruise to LA. Radisson (correctly) believes that selling two 11 day cruises over Christmas and New Years is more beneficial than selling two 7 day two for one cruises over Thanksgiving.

Can't fault them the change. I didn't ask the holiday cruise pricing since I know it will prbably be 25% off (or $600 per day at these rates). I am sure they will get it. I also expect Radisson will give us the standard $250 per person for the cancellation.

I will still probably book the four day cruise as a filler between MUSH and our New Years cruise on Celebrity Century. We will see.

Marc......
How did you get your prices.... I have never paid less than 580 a night in an H.......

who is your agent.....?

Dan, for one or two?

Except for PiP which inlcuded air, I have never paid more than $400 per diem for any cruise, including upcoming Asia cruise. Of course, that includes past pax and onboard booking discounts which are not in $1597 I quoted (of course, no discounts on shorter cruises).

Marc...... thats $580 for 2 0r $290 Per diem. for H. for a 26 day

I landed a deal on a cat B for $460 per diem... which I thought killer good... for my latest trip. :p

Being on the ship over a Month caused me to want more space... A Cat C was offered for $430 per diem...but in 902.... (has no bathtub)

As a more experienced travler with Radisson... how did I do ??? Any suggestions??

Since when do they do 4 day cruises? Where do they go or is this a cruise to no where (lol)?

Dan, my experience is very limited. I always go for the least costly accomodations on all of our cruises. There are many others here who know the ins and outs a lot better.

BTW, Radisson is only offering $100 per person shipboard credit for the cancellation. :(

Marc, now be your opportunity to try Silversea and go with us.

We are on the Silver Shadow 12/12/06 doing Barbados to Ft. Lauderdale 9 days for $2348 plus $150 in port charges. We are going to get another discount for booking onboard in November (and could probably get you the same) and then there is the 5% B&K discount. Figure with port charges about $2291 for 9 days. $254 per diem.

Here is the itinerary. http://www.silversea.com/Calendar/frames/04_main_frame.asp?VoyageNumber=3635

thanks Marc....

I tend to agree that even the cheapest cabin on Radisson is better than many other lines best.
I decided to splurge as this latest cruise was both milestone for age and relationship. ;)

Did not want to let it slip by.....I have tried to turn back the clock but it hasen't worked yet......

The 12/3 itinerary on the Shadow is also at 50% off. I think it's the reverse - St. Lauderdale to Barbados. We'd be on one of those if we hadn't already booked the Whisper in April!

Thanks for the info, Marc. We did an on-board booking this summer for the Voyager on the Nov. 20, 2006 cruise. Guess we'll be looking for another.

Sue, it is the reverse, but not the same ports. We chose this over that one because we would rather have the shorter flight on the way home and would rather go through customs at the pier as opposed to doing so in the San Juan or Miami airports. (what a mess) Also, because we are doing those same islands in November of this year. We have not been to the Turks and Caicos or the Dominican Republic, and are looking forward to going to Bequia, St. Vincent again.

BTW, which cruise are you doing in April? We were tempted by the transatlantic cruise, but we opted to go on the Cloud and do Lisbon to Genoa for 10 days instead.

Caribbean April 13. Just 7 days and it hits some ports we haven't done yet. It's in and out of San Juan. Still at 30% off but I keep hoping it will come down a bit more. It will be our first Silversea cruise so we're excited!

The new Voyager schedules are on the webstie. Pricing as I surmised. Christmas and New Years itineraries very similar to Navigators for Christmas and New Years that we had been previously booked on and cancelled. Now TWO ships doing expensive run of the mill Caribbean itineraries. One in west while other is in east. You would think at least one of the ships would do Ft Lauderdale - Aruba or San Juan - Ft Lauderdale so people can book a longer trip without all the sea days going back and forth to Ft Lauderdale.

With SilverSeas specials mentioned here, I have a hard time believing that Radisson can get these fares....just doesn't make sense.

Claudia:

Since I have been sailing Radisson, they have always had a three day cruise either west coast or east coast or both around Nov/Dec timeframe. As for four day cruises, Diamond used to do these extensively out of San Juan. Now, Navigator is doing the short San Juan runs.

All:

I reread this thread and am sorry for my negative tone. I knew the sailings were going to be cancelled. $100 per person for each sailing is $400 total. As this is much further out than 331 days, no one is going to be out any air. That is probably a reasonable compensation. After all, we were already planning to cancel to go on MUSH. :D

I am amazed at SilverSeas deals this far out for same time frame in Caribbean. Either they are cash poor and looking to get some quick deposits, are smarter than Radisson, or are dumber than Radisson. Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that question.

I have always thought that SilverSeas was a step up from Radisson; that was why their per diems were higher. Was I wrong? If they are a step up, then natural market forces should lower Radisson's prices and/or increase SilverSeas' prices. Of course, with imperfect information comes imperfect markets.

I like to think I am a reasonable consumer. A reasonable consumer will go for more value for the dollar. Therefore, the choice should be one of the SilverSeas sailings (of course air makes the prices comparable). Now, if we were all reasonable consumers, that would force Radisson to lower prices and SilverSeas to increase prices on the remaining cabins. Will that happen?

I imagine the best I can expect on Radisson is for them to throw in a two cat upgrade on the four day cruise. I will then book a Cat B (only $400 more) and sail in a Seven Seas Suite. ;)

Don, I don't know how I missed that cruise. We are booked on Voyager Dec.17- 27 just to have a holiday and get away from the snowbird crush here in S. FL.
I have gone over the 2006 cruises. The Black sea and the Baltic are areas least known to us. I have Oceania's 2006 cruises. Their ports seem to be a bit more interesting. If one books a veranda suite or higher. it seems to be the equivalent of RSSC's regular Mariner/Voyager suites.

Marc,
Our Caribbean cruise in January on silverseas was less per diem than a similar Radisson cruise. When it works i guess it works. If you consider all inclusive an upgrade of class, well then they are. We really did like that, no doubt, and would go again in a minute for that reason alone. I would say all else is similar, also we asked for and got caviar at no cost. I'm not sure if that was an oversight or not. it really was fabulous, but not a whole lot else stands out. i think once you get to the level of Radisson, it's hard to raise the bar in huge increments.

Cindy

Cindy, we aren't by any means caviar connoisseurs, but whenever they have had it, I don't remember there ever being a charge. We never ordered it seperately, but I can't imagine that they would charge for it considering the all inclusive nature of SS. Also a big plus is all drinks included throughout the ship. We don't drink that much, but if I want a drink out on deck or while watching a show, or in the lounge, I love just being able to order it and not sign for anything.

Marc,

The only thing I can add here is that we booked a Silversea cruise for mid-October 2006. They chartered the cruise and gave us a very generous 20% discount on a rebooking which worked out to be about $1700! Not that this helps you or makes you feel any better.

Anthony

P.S. Thanks Linda

Well, it certainly "come up" once or twice on this board. There is nothing quite like no signing for that margarita by the pool. sorry for the repeat, but we would sit at the pool bar, and our guy would just open a Carlsburg and sit it in front of us. It is a little thing to some, but it IS a level of service even the occasional drinker would love. Oh, by the way, they do in room bottles as well, just tell them what you want.

I think the learning here, which Brown & Keene has presciently picked up on, is that the best way to go is to consider all of the options: RSSC, Silversea, Seabourn, and even Oceania rather than just sticking with one of those exclusively. My first instinct would always probably be to look at RSSC, but if there's a good Silversea or Oceania deal then I would seriously consider those instead. What's nice is that we can continue to use Brown & Keene to meet all our travel needs. That level of flexibility and service is awesome and a great testament to Ngaire & company.

We decided on our Silversea cruise first because of the all inclusive factor - we enjoyed the socialization on Seabourn and really think it is due to the all inclusive. The other factor was RSSC's vague and changing policies and past pax benefits earlier this year. Add to that competitive pricing and we're off to the Caribbean on Silversea!

Cindy, I also like just having to raise the flag on the back of my deck chair for them to come by and take my drink order.

Lawrence, you are right. They are great and I agree with Anthony. Linda has been wonderful to work with as well as Ngaire.

Sue, I will be anxious to hear the comparison after your April cruise between Silversea and Seabourn., so you will have to do your review. It has been so long since I sailed on Seabourn (1996), but from what I remembered they were so much alike.

I haven't been on Seabourn in a while either because once we found Radisson (and more importantly their balconies) we just didn't want to cruise without one. I'm hoping Silversea is very similar! Another nice thing is we'll be past pax on all three lines. And you all are right - Linda is a sweetie to work with!